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4G LTE iPhone may arrive fall 2012

Apple Inc. may release a new version of its iPhone this fall, with 4G LTE compatibility among the new features of the long-awaited update of the popular smartphone.

Enthusiast site iMore said the 4G LTE feature is in addition to earlier rumored features, such as a smaller 30-pin dock connector.

The iMore article pointed out that a 4G LTE radio is already present in the New iPad tablet, thereby setting the stage for an iPhone based on the same technology.

"(T)he new iPhone will be 4G LTE compatible. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, considering the new iPad supports LTE and it’s hard to imagine Apple giving the iPad a feature like that and not passing it on to the iPhone. So look for that this fall," the article said.

On the other hand, it said the size of the screen is still not set in stone.

It also said Apple is likely to stick to October 2012 as the release schedule for "iPhone 5.1."

According to iMore, a new iPhone release less than a year after the previous iPhone may create a problem of sorts.

"Apple has shown they can earn significant revenue on their flagship devices even when they’ve been on the market for over a year. They probably don’t want to unnecessarily shorten that shelf life," it said.

iOS6

On the other hand, iMore said there is no specific information yet on how large an update Apple is planning for iOS 6, the next version of its operating system for mobile devices.

"If Apple announces an iOS 6 SDK event this spring, like they did from 2008 to 2010, then we may start getting an idea. If iOS 6 isn’t introduced to developers until WWDC, presumably in the summer like 2011, then a fall release would seem a certainty," it said. —TJD, GMA News